Friday, July 6, 2012

Leapin' Lupins!

I thought I should laud the lovely leggy lupins that came leaping across the land last month, though alas, they're now beginning to lag.


This batch was spotted in the Laurentians, north of Montreal.  Doesn't that old fashioned fire-hydrant make a colourful sculpture in this wildflower garden?


This one is doing her best to imitate the fire hydrant.


The hot pink and lime green make a bold fashion statement.


You may have noticed that I like colour.  I like my photos to snap, crackle and pop with high contrast and bold tones.  There is a vogue that I've noticed for very pale, washed-out effects, which I do enjoy seeing in other people's photo editing, but it's just not my style.  
These pictures are about the life force of the flowers;
how they leap out at passers-by and demand to be appreciated.


But even in their bold brightness, 
they maintain a delicate softness.
Forgive me for waxing lyrical here.







Taking part in Flower Art Friday



39 comments:

  1. I love your Lovely Life Force Lupins :) I love the Aliveness and Lightness you always bring to us through your wonderful photography. You light up my life.... Oh sorry, that was Debbie Boone... :)

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    1. MM,
      Gee, I've never been mistaken for Debbie Boone before!
      :-)

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    2. Well I didn't want to go all mushy on you :) LOL

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  2. Lovely and luscious. I'm with you about colour. I appreciate the talent in presenting the washed out muted images but they always make me rub my eyes. I think I'm developing cataracts. ;) Your flowers are beautiful and vibrant. They make me smile.

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    1. Hilary,
      You have such a friendly smile.
      As for the faded-look photo style, if there's a mouse-over to see how it looked prior to editing, I usually find I prefer the original. It's got more juice, ya know?

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  3. love lupines! and your captures are fabulous!

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    1. Deborah,
      Thanks! Lovely to meet another lupin(e) lover.

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  4. Leapen lupins, your pictures are lovely. They bloom wild here in the park and along the beach and signal the beginning of the summer to me, so I watch carefully for them and cherish the first blossoms. Great post.

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    1. Gillian,
      We're always excited to see the lupins popping up here, too. As you say, they bring glad tidings of summer arriving. They grow along the ditches and wild over the hills along various stretches of highway throughout the province, as well as in people's gardens here.

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  5. I had no idea these pretty things were called LUPINS. Such lush colors! They are amazing through your eyes...and the computer is even giving off an intoxicating smell.

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    1. jann,
      I think the colours might fit in very well in Sicily.
      As for that intoxicating smell, you might want to check your computer connection to make sure it's not overheating!

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  6. Beautiful! They come in so many wonderful colors.

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    1. Gunilla,
      Yes, the variety of colours, and variation of one colour on a flower is just lovely. The blue/violet coloured ones are more prevalent.

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  7. Loving your lupins! I have to say I agree with you regarding the hazy washed-out photos . . . just not my style. I prefer the vibrancy in my shots, but my entry in this weeks floral art is a little washed out. Enjoyed my visit here.

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    1. Andrea,
      I took a tour of your blog and see what you mean about the vibrancy of your shots. Very full of life and colour, just the way I like it! Thanks for stopping by.

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  8. Absolutely lovely pictures! I agree with you about the pale photos, although they can look glamorous. But I am all for life force.
    I have always loved the scent of lupins, too, although it is not a traditionally sweet scent. It takes me right back to childhood.

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    1. Jenny,
      Do you know, I'm really not familiar with the scent of lupins. In spite of having gotten up close and personal to photograph them, I neglected to sniff them. I'm quite abashed to admit that, but there you go. They're well past their prime this season, so I guess I'll have to wait till next year to sample that non-traditional scent that coloured your childhood.

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  9. Delicious flowers. Delicate and attractive compositions. I really like.

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    1. Leovi,
      Please don't eat the lupins, no matter how delicious they might appear! I'm pleased that they please you.

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  10. Lordy, lordy, lordy, what a lot of liberally and lavishly and luxuriously allotted "L" words here, luring us in to linger in your luscious lands of lavender colored lupins, in all their luminously languid laziness lapping up the light while leavening the landscape with the levity of floral laughter... yes, yes, yes, flowers can laugh too, in dazzling purple smiles...

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    1. Owen,
      Lovely lilting lifting language you lambently lay here with lithesome grace. Louciao could little expect less.

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  11. haha, and i had just posted a series of "very pale, washed-out" photos :-) though i wasn't aware that there might be a vogue about it, i am surprised, i have always thought that my love for pictorialism was very old-fashioned :-) though i like vibrant colours in my pictures as well, from time to time, it all depends on my mood.

    but lupins!!! i adore these flowers and they don't grow in romania, so pleeease, take more pictures for me, as often as the occasion presents itself! simply gorgeous!

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    1. Ah Roxana,
      Never would I consider your photos washed out! Even when pale or indistinct, mere traces of suggestions, they are always sheer poetry! Your photography is in a realm of its own and is absolute artistry.

      Now we've got that out of the way, let me say I'm so happy that my offering of humble lupins brings you such joy. Their season is done now and they are busily, though quietly--thankfully, because what a racket that would make if they rattled their pods like frenzied Flamenco dancers--as I was saying before I interrupted myself with stray thoughts, they are now reseeding themselves to spread even further joy next summer. But I do believe I have a little cache of lupin portraits that I might dip into in some future posts to satisfy your newly discovered lupin lust.

      Meanwhile, am going away for a few days so feel free to wander amidst the lupins here as long as you like. Pick some, if so tempted!

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  12. What a smashing blog! Photos, wordplay and MORE (look at that cool font that you can still read!)


    Wishing you a pleasant week with
    Aloha from Waikiki
    Comfort Spiral
    > < } } ( ° >

    > < } } (°>

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    1. Hi Cloudia,
      I'm pleased that my blog pleases you! Thanks for stopping in and having a look around. Lovely to meet someone who lives in Waikiki.

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  13. These are just gorgeous! Thanks so much for sharing with Flower Art Friday!!

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    1. LeAnne,
      It was a pleasure to be able to join in!

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  14. Anonymous09 July, 2012

    Thank you for these inspirational pictures ! Guess, it's high time to have a discussion with our garden.

    Please have a wonderful Tuesday.

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    1. Robert,
      You make me laugh: my partner, Pierre, talks with the house plants as well as encouraging the vegetables in the garden he recently planted. It's if they start talking back to him that I'll start to worry.

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  15. lovely lustrous luminous lupins that are not lacklustre or lackadaisical....

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    1. Catherine,
      A goodly load of Ls you have in your luggage. Laudable!

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  16. You know, I once tried to pull out some Lupins that were growing along the side of a mountain pass road - they are tricky buggers!!

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    1. Saj,
      Were you driving while trying to pull them out? That could have proved difficult. Best to slow down, if not actually pull over to the side of the road (preferably on the side furthest from the sheer drop down the side of the mountain)and actually get out of the car to do the pulling of lupins.

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    2. Shayla,
      You're lookin' good in Lotus Land!

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  17. Anonymous14 July, 2012

    I love the vibrant colours of the lupins. Over here they grow wild by the sides of the roads. Lovely shots.

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    1. LadyFi,
      I had no idea that lupins are so widespread. They are wonderful ambassadors in that way, spreading the joy and good will of wildflowers.

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  18. Replies
    1. Michael,
      Lawdamercy! Lilting line you left. Thanks awfuLLy.

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